Despite scoring nine runs Tuesday and five on Wednesday, the Indians' attack continues to struggle.Want proof? In the final two games of the series against the Red Sox, the Tribe was 1-for-22 with runners in scoring position. Cleveland scored only three runs that were not the product of home runs or defensive blunders by Boston. ¶

Home runs by Ben Francisco, Kelly Shoppach and Mark DeRosa (who hit two) accounted for seven runs. Three errors by the Red Sox gave the Tribe four more of the 14 total.

KEY STATS: Aeros right-hander Jeanmar Gomez won his Double-A debut, holding the Senators to a run on two hits in five innings, walking one and striking out five. . . .With the sweep, the Aeros wrapped up a 7-1 homestand and increased their franchise-best start to 16-4. . . .The Senators (2-16) lost their 12th consecutive game and shortstop Jemel Spearman had a particularly tough day, going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts.¶

The Indians just announced in a press release that designated hitter Travis Hafner is headed to the 15-day disabled list due to right shoulder soreness. Left-handed pitcher Rich Rundleswas recalled from Columbus totake his place on the roster.

This is not the first time manager Eric Wedge has searched for an effective hitter to bat second in the Indians' lineup.

In fact, it has been an issue for the past few seasons. So it's no surprise that the problem has arisen again, though when Mark DeRosa was aquired over the winter, Wedge thought that General Manager Mark Shapiro had resolved the problem.

Key stats:The Curve committed five errors, with three of them coming in the first inning. It allowed the Aeros to jump out to a quick 4-0 lead. The Aeros committed three costly errors as well, including one in the eighth inning that allowed two runs to score.

KEY STATS: Aeros starter Chuck Lofgren saw his no-hit bid end after six innings. No, he didn’t give up a hit. He was pulled because his pitch count began to get too high.

Lofgren, who threw 85 pitches, struck out seven, walked one and hit one batter with a pitch. The walk and hit batter came back-to-back in the first inning. Lofgren retired the next 16 batters he faced.

The conservative approach to Adam Miller's finger issues hasn't worked, so the next step probably is surgery.

Injuries have created nothing but grief for the promising Indians right-hander for more than a year. For the past two months, he has tried to learn a new grip on the ball to avoid putting pressure on his middle finger, which has two damaged pulleys (bindings that hold the ligament to the bone).

KEY STATS: With the victory, the Aeros (11-2) increased their winning streak to an Eastern-League best six games...Altoona (3-10) committed a season-high four errors, including back-to-back miscues in the fourth inning. In their first 13 games, the Curve have racked up 22 errors, including a trio of errors in a game three times already.

Rafael Perez is lugging around a 16.71 ERA and has made just one praiseworthy appearance in seven outings.

Jensen Lewis has pitched six times and given up four home runs and four walks in 6j innings; two of the longballs were lethal to the Indians' chances of sweeping the New York Yankees last weekend, a series that ended in a 2-2 split.

Indians general manager Mark Shapiro and his staff aren't ready to push the panic button just yet, despite the Tribe starting the season 4-9 and sitting in last place in the America League Central Division. However, he expressed real concern during a teleconference Monday afternoon during the team's off day while touching on a handful of hot topics.

It would be difficult to devise a test more demanding for Carl Pavano.

As a Yankee for four years through 2008, he was the object of derision and insults, emanating from the fans, some of his teammates and his manager, Joe Torre, who ripped the pitcher in his recent book.

How did Eric Wedge's life change after the Indians beat the Yankees 22-4 Saturday?

"I got a lot more e-mails and texts from my friends and family,'' the manager said Sunday. ""This morning was as lot crazier. I don't know how many interviews people wanted me to do; I had to turn a few of them down.''

I spent a day in Columbus over the weekend at the Clippers stunning new home - Huntington Park - and wanted to share some of the thoughts of manager Torey Lovullo regarding his team's new digs and various prospects as well as C-Town's new affiliation with the Indians.

Baseball folks might remember that Lovullo is a former Clippers player (1991-92) and the Aeros manager who guided the team to the 2005 Eastern League Championship. This season marks his eighth as a skipper in the Tribe's minor leagues.

Carl Pavano became Public Enemy No. 1 during the four years he spent with the Yankees, even though he was one of them. So he wasn't surprised when a chorus of boos descended from the grandstand when his name was announced during the team introductions for the Yankees' home opener on Thursday.

There is a time warp effect for fans sitting in the new Yankee Stadlium.

The shape and sight lines of the grandstand, the dimensions of the field, the location of the bullpens, the scoreboard filled with ads and the iconic slatted frieze that rings the facing of the upper deck are nearly identical to old Yankee Stadium, which sits forlon and forgotten across the street.

Indians officials did not send an advisory to the Guinness Book of World Records, but when manager Eric Wedge addressed his troops after only eight games Tuesday night it might have established an American League mark, at the very least.

But there was no use waiting around, inasmuch as the Tribe had only one win.

One of the things we would like to do with this blog is ramp up the video of our minor league coverage. This is our first interview of the season and it features Aeros outfielder Nick Weglarz, who is rated the No.3 prospect within the Indians organization, according to Baseball America. Please let us know if you like the video(s). If you hate the video(s). Or let us know how we can make them better. -- Jonas Fortune

Raise the topic of excessive striking out, and Eric Wedge's blood pressure doesn't budge. But mention that the Indians have 21 strikeouts with runners in scoring positon, and the manager begins to bristle.

"We've been striking out entirely too much with runners in scoring position,'' he said Tuesday. ``I don't get too caught up in strikes generally, but if a guy is in scoring position, you have to put the ball in play.''

KEY STATS: The teams waited through an hour and 25-minute delay to start the game, then played through a couple innings of rain before the wet weather stopped...With the loss, Altoona remains winless on the season, dropping to 0-5. The Aeros improve to 4-1.

"There for a while I didn't think we'd be able to get it in," Aeros manager Mike Sarbaugh said. "That was a great job by our (grounds crew) getting everything ready to help us squeeze it in."

It didn't take long for Manny Ramirez to realize he never had it so good playing for the Indians.

After signing an eight-year, $160 million contract with the Red Sox after the 2000 season, he communicated his desire to return to the Tribe to clubhouse personnel and some of his former Tribe teammates, particularly utility infielder Enrique Wilson.

CLEVELAND - Indians rookie outfielder Trevor Crowe couldn't contain the grin that kept creasing his face as he took a few minutes before Sunday's game to share his thoughts of his time so far in the big leagues.

"I'm still extremely excited about being here every morning when I wake up," admitted Crowe, the Tribe's first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2005 draft out of the University of Arizona. "I'm finally at the point where it's all about winning."

KEY STATS - With 10 more walks today, the Bowie pitching staff issued a combined 32 free passes in the four-game series, the Aeros scoring 13 times on all those gifts.

KEY MOMENT - The Aeros scored their first three runs in the second inning without the aid of hit, taking advantage of four walks...Akron's first hit didn't come until the fourth on John Drennen's double...The Aeros batted around and added four insurance runs in the eighth inning.

STORM'S STARS - The Aeros offense. Despite being a relatively young group of players, the team's batters proved very patient in the opening series, staying within themselves and their strike zones despite the wildness of Bowie's pitching staff.¶ "The organization, in general, preaches to try and stay within yourself," Aeros manager Mike Sarbaugh said. "Early on as a group, their approach has been very good. They're not trying to do too much, just taking what the opponent gives them. Consider that early on today we had three runs with no hits."

UP NEXT - The Aeros are off today for the Easter holiday before returning to action Monday to begin a three-game series against visiting Altoona (Pittsburgh Pirates) at 7:05 p.m. at Canal Park. A pair of left-handers in the Aeros Chuck Lofgren and Curve's Daniel Moskos are the scheduled pitchers.

NOTES - Aeros outfielder John Drennen notched his first hit in four games with a double in the fourth inning - the team's first hit of the day. He finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored - including a walk, double and a hit-by-pitch. "One thing we're trying to get him to do is to just stay more middle of the field, left center because in the past he's gotten into a tendency to get into more of a pull mode. But he's a guy who we think can drive the ball to both gaps."

* Aeros center fielder Jose Constanza pulled up lame with a left hamstring tweak after singling in the seventh inning. "It's just a slight hamstring strain," Sarbaugh said.

Only in Cleveland do home openers happen like this. After more than seven hours of a mixture of rain and baseball the Indians finally lost their fourth straight game of the season, this time to the Toronto Blue Jays 13-7.

The starting pitching was a little better in this one as Scott Lewis gave up four runs in 4 1/3 innings, but that was hardly the bashing that either of the other three starting pitchers took in their games, Sheldon Ocker wrote:

KEY STATS – The Aeros were unable to get much going offensively Friday night as they were limited to three scattered hits. It wasn’t as if the Aeros couldn’t hit, they just seemed to hit were a glove was. Carlos Santana put a charge into two balls that amounted to long outs. He also walked twice. Nick Weglarz sent a ball deep into right field that was held up by the wind.

The Indians are struggling to find someone in the bullpen who can hold the Jays pat.

Rafael Betancourt allowed a run in in 1 2/3 innings of work. Joe Smith followed and made it just 1/3 of an inning while giving up another pair of runs - although just one was earned thanks to a Jhonny Peralta error.

Tribe right fielder Shin-Soo Choo hit a no-doubt homer in the sixth off Tallet to pull the Tribe within a run, 5-4. If it hadn't been for a fantastic play by Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro on a ball by Jhonny Peralta, it could have tied the game.

The long rain delay didn't bother former Indians pitching prospect Brian Tallet. He just sat the Tribe's Mark DeRosa, Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner down in order - all via strikeout to end the fifth inning.

Nearly two hours after the Indians home opener was delayed due to rain, the few fans that remained at Progressive Field were teased when the grounds crew came running out on the field and began removing the tarp.

We last we left the Tribe, starter Scott Lewis was being removed from the game after giving up a go-ahead home run to Marco Scutaro with one out in the fifth inning.

After such a promising start, Tribe starter Scott Lewis was lifted from the home opener Friday after Marco Scutaro's home run in the fifth inning gave the Blue Jays their first lead, 4-3.

Lewis breezed through the Toronto lineup the first time through, allowing just one hit. But the second and third times through, he gave up six hits as the Blue Jays rallied from an early 3-0 deficit highlighted by a three-run fourth inning.

Well, it may just the first home game of the season, but Tribe fans are already in mid-season form.

With Tribe starter Scott Lewis struggling through the fourth inning, Vernon Wells sparked a Jays rally with a one-out single. Designated hitter Adam Lind followed with a two-run, opposite-field home run to left field. Moments later a fan fired the ball back on the field and nearly hit an unsuspecting Indians player before being escorted away by police.

As the Indians were announced coming out onto the field as the game's beginning ceremonies got underway, pitcher Carl Pavano was audibly and lustily booed. On the other hand, infielder and newcomer Tony Graffanino recieved just as loud of applause as the players you would expect such as outfielder Grady Sizemore and catcher Victor Martinez.

You'd be hard pressed to tell his team had gotten off to an 0-3 start with the merry way with which manager Eric Wedge met the media before the Tribe's home opener Friday afternoon. The usually reserved skipper was as engaging as he's been with the media in his years in Cleveland. Here's the edited version:

Wedge on Tribe's 0-3 start and finally being home:"You always like to get off to a good start, and it's just three games, but we know we need to do better. And it has to start with our starting pitching."

KEY STATS - Bowie starting pitcher Jake Arrieta, the Baltimore Orioles No. 4 prospect according to Baseball America, held the Aeros to one hit over four innings, walking one batter while striking out eight.

KEY MOMENTS - After being held to a mere infield single by Arrieta, the Aeros promptly made up for lost time against the Baysox bullpen. They plated their first run in the fifth on a Beau Mills RBI single and scored their second run without the aid of a hit in the sixth. Three walks, a Niuman Romero sacrifice bunt and Johnny Drennen sacrifice fly proved to be textbook in manufacturing the winning run.

"Niuman getting that bunt down and being able to move us gave us that second run," Sarbaugh said.

It was just another player making his major-league debut. Thousands of men have preceded him.

No big deal, right? Unless you're the guy jogging onto a big-league field for the first time, thinking that every eye is on me, and what if I trip over the baseline or strike out on a pitch over my head or throw a ball in the seats or crash into the star player who's trying to catch a fly ball?

KEY STATS - Aeros starting pitcher Hector Rondon (1-0) earned the win by limiting the Baysox to a run on five hits while striking out six over 5 2/3 innings. Rondon dominated the first five frames before leaving the ball up a bit after coming back out in the sixth when the Baysox finally managed to get on the board.

That might not be news or maybe it is, depending on your perspective. There are Indians fans who think Hafner will never again be an impact hitter. Others, manager Eric Wedge, for example, who feel that it's only a matter of time.

While his teammates were opening the season against the Rangers Monday afternoon, Jamey Carroll was on his way to Baltimore to meet with Dr. Tom Graham.

The Indians' No. 1 utility player will be out four to six weeks with a fracture of the fifth metacarpal of the left hand, a consequence of being hit on the hand with a pitch by Astros reliever Doug Brocail in last Saturday's exhibition game in Houston.

Veteran Tony Graffanino was summoned to take Carroll's place on the roster.

Shin-Soo Choo admits he wasn't quite himself when he returned from the World Baseball Classic, where he played for South Korea, which lost in the finals to Japan.

"It was a different schedule there, a different program and a different time,'' he said Sunday. "My body was different. I came back and I was pretty tired. Now, I'm into my routine and back to hitting regularly. I feel a lot better.''

With just one day before the season starts, The Beacon Journal decided today would be the best day to disperse its season preview section.

For the casual fan it offers a chance to get caught up on all the happenings before the season begins. For the more educated fan, its a regurgitation of all the information we have been reading the last 50 days from Goodyear, Arizona.